Friday, September 25, 2009

Pentagon: FBI, Navy Foiled Alleged Terror Plot on Quantico

News in Balance:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2009 -- An indictment handed down yesterday in a North Carolina federal court charges three men with plotting to attack Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with the intent to murder U.S. military personnel.

The men -- two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident from Kosovo -- are Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39; his son, Zakariya Boyd, 20; and Kosovo native Hysen Sherifi, 24, according to Justice Department and Marine Corps news releases.

The three allegedly were involved in a plot to procure maps of the base and assemble weapons as a precursor to an attack, the releases say. They also are named with four other men -- including another Boyd son, Dylan, 22 -- in a sealed indictment July 22 for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad, the releases say.

Agents from the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Quantico's headquarters' staff collaborated on an investigation that uncovered the alleged plot at the base.

"We have been in close coordination with NCIS and FBI agents and other officials throughout the Boyd investigation," Quantico's base commander Marine Col. Dan Choike said in a Marine Corps news release.

"We have ensured that the safety and protection of our Marines, their families and civilians who call Quantico home, received our first and absolute attention," Choike said. "That attention in all matters continues to be our main focus."

Others indicted in the alleged broader terrorism activities include:

Anes Subasic, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen;

Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S. citizen; and

Ziyad Yaghi, 21, a U.S. citizen.

All seven men are residents of North Carolina.

The defendants were arrested July 27 at various locations. All are being held without bond.

"These charges hammer home the point that terrorists and their supporters are not confined to the remote regions of some far-away land, but can grow and fester right here at home," U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said in the Justice Department news release.